Chapter 290: After the Thunderstorm: A Bounty of Fish and Unseen Dangers

Zhang San chimed in too. “Xia Qing, if you can’t finish all those Green Lantern Fish, shrimp, and crabs, bring them out to trade. I’ll take everything.”

With Tang Huai and Zhang San breaking the tension, Xia Qing finally collected herself. “Alright, I’ll go check things out once the storm passes.”

Thankfully, she’d already moved all the edible springwater fish into the indoor tank. If not, with that lightning strike, they’d all have ended up on the dinner table.

“What? You’re really going to wait until the rain stops?” Tang Huai looked more anxious than anyone. “Xia Qing, shrimp and crabs spoil quick once they’re dead. Bacteria grows fast and toxins form, so you can’t eat them past a certain point.”

Li Si spoke up too. “The lightning that hit the Section Three Reservoir just now had to be at least 900 million volts. Everything in that water—fish, shrimp, even microorganisms—would’ve died instantly. But within the next two hours, the fish and shellfish won’t spoil or produce toxins yet.”

Even though Li Si had extended the safe window to two hours, Xia Qing’s reservoir covered thirty mu. She could never catch, test, and seal up all that on her own in time.

She’d definitely need help. How many people she needed depended on how many fish the lightning had killed. There was no shortage of meat lately, so Xia Qing hadn’t gone fishing in months. Without egrets or other fish-eating birds in her territory, there should be plenty left.

She didn’t need to rush gathering fish, but she did need to block off the waterway leading to Section Four with a fishing net before too many dead fish drifted downstream.

Xia Qing checked over her protective suit again. She’d left even her knife indoors out of fear of a shock. Then she dashed through the rain and blocked the east end of the reservoir with a fishing net.

Afterward, she looked over the reservoir, packed with floating fish. She scooped up two big ones near the edge and sprinted back to the small shed by the fields.

When Old Goat saw the two massive fish Xia Qing carried in, he jumped straight up in alarm and bolted aside.

“Don’t worry, boss, these fish were already dead.” Xia Qing was surprised not by the number of fish, but by how huge they were. Each one had to weigh more than a hundred catties!

Then again, the reservoir in Section Three was more than ten meters deep and had never dried out, so it wasn’t strange that giant fish lurked at the bottom. With one lightning strike, even the deepest ones were done for.

After running a check, Xia Qing realized one of them was a Yellow Lantern fish. She immediately started reaching out to people.

“Ji, I just caught an evolved fish over two meters long—no idea what species, but it’s a Yellow Lantern. You want to ask Third Brother if he wants it? … Okay, after the rain stops, just grab it by the reservoir. … Yeah, a ton of fish got electrocuted. Can you ask Brother Ya how many guys he can bring to help collect them?”

“Qi, how’s it going on your end? Once the rain’s over, can you bring a few people to help fish these out? Cool, see if you can get in touch with Qing and Shi Du. I’ll pay them for helping out. … No need to bother Zhao, a lot of the fish already floated his way. He’ll be busy for a while.”

“Li Jie, didn’t you say you wanted crab last time? All the fish, shrimp, and crab in my reservoir are dead now. If you’re free once the rain’s done, come by and pick some.”

“Xin Yu, lightning hit my fish pond—there’s a ton of fish floating up. Want to take some to feed your eagles?”

“Captain Hu, are you guys free after this storm? If you have time, come help me gather fish. A whole layer got electrocuted.” After inviting Hu Zifeng’s team, Xia Qing asked, “Captain, do you have Tang Huai’s number? Ask if he wants to come help, but just bring him. Don’t let the folks from Territory Nine hear about this.”

It took Hu Zifeng a moment to respond, “Alright, I’ll ask him.”

With her helpers arranged, Xia Qing was just sealing up the two big fish when Zhao Ze’s voice came over the walkie-talkie. “Xia Qing, quite a few dead fish washed up on my side. I’ll catch them now and send them over to you.”

Zhao Ze meant well, but Xia Qing didn’t want to break the rules. “No need, Zhao. If they float over, they’re yours. I still have plenty here.”

“Got it.” Even his voice sounded cheerful.

Over in Territory Two, Tang Huai turned to Zhou Xun right away. “Go check if any fish are floating down our river. If there are, scoop them up immediately.”

“But we’re not even downstream from Section Three…”

Zhou Xun muttered under his breath, only to get a sharp look from Tang Huai. “Just go! Less chatter, more action!”

Zhou Xun grabbed his night vision goggles and headed out, nearly bumping into Tang Heng on the way in.

Tang Huai shoved Zhou Xun out and hurried his younger brother inside, blurting out, “Is he dead yet?”

Tang Heng shook his head, disappointed. “He woke up. Looks like he’ll live, but he’s got severe burns all over and can’t move his lower body.”

Tang Huai’s disappointment flipped to delight. “So he’s paralyzed? That guy—the one with Evolved Elasticity—he’s finished now! Serves him right, standing by the window in his armor and gabbing on the phone during a thunderstorm. How’d lightning miss him before?”

Before he could finish, Tang Huai’s phone rang again. He assumed it was Tang Lu or Xu Pin calling and cursed, “Damn it, are you all trying to drive me crazy?”

Tang Heng pulled his brother further inside. “Don’t answer by the window, come over here.”

Once they were in the inner room, Tang Huai checked the caller ID and froze. “Hu Fengzi? What do you want with me? I’ll tell you now—the Jiang Xiong Squad has nothing to do with Su Feng. If you’re looking for someone, look elsewhere… What? What did you just say?”

Hu Zifeng pulled the phone away from his ear and yelled, “If you keep yelling your head off, forget it—”

“I’m coming right now!” Tang Huai hung up before Hu Zifeng could change his mind, grabbing his brother and shouting, “Xia Qing wants me to help her collect fish! I’m trusting the territory to you, I’m out!”

“Wait up!” Tang Heng snagged his brother, “You sure Hu Zifeng isn’t setting you up?”

“Of course not. If he wanted to catch me, he wouldn’t need an excuse like this—and he’d never drag Xia Qing into it.” Tang Huai was already grinning from ear to ear. “Fish collecting, here I come!”

Even so, Tang Heng wouldn’t let go. “Hold on, let’s call Dad first.”

Tang Zhengbo, already listening on the walkie-talkie, had heard about the Section Three reservoir getting hit by lightning. When he found out Xia Qing wanted Hu Zifeng to ask his son over to help, Tang Zhengbo was stunned, but made up his mind quickly. “Since Xia Qing doesn’t want to involve Territory Nine, Ah Huai, you let Zhou Xun and the rest bring you to the Northern Barrier of Section Three.”

“When you get there, don’t argue with anyone or wander around. If Xia Qing ends up with more fish than she can store, just buy all of them. Top quality fish will go for one or two more points per jin than in the Safe Zone—but do not fight with Zhang San over it.”

Tang Huai thought he misheard. “Dad, Section Three’s reservoir is thirty mu. There’s got to be at least a thousand catties of fish. You want me to buy it all?”

Tang Zhengbo’s answer was resolute. “All of it. Even if it’s ten thousand catties, take it all. I’ll talk to Territory One right now and borrow their cold storage.”

Tang Huai was completely baffled. “Dad, let me check with Xia Qing before arranging any trades. What if she decides not to sell?”

Tang Zhengbo chuckled. “She’ll definitely sell. Trust me.”

If she wasn’t planning to sell, why would she call you over in the first place?